Dear Alumni and Friends,
Campus is once again buzzing with students moving into the dorms, engaging in sorority/fraternity recruitment and learning ANDN (Andersen Hall), ANDR (Andrews Hall) and ANSC (Animal Science Complex) are very different buildings. Do you remember what it was like to be a new student arriving on campus that first week? Were you excited or nervous? Did you meet your forever friends right away, or did that take some time? We’d love to hear your story!
Alumna Bridget Sims Lewis ('91, '12) met her best friend Racine Smith Williams ('89) on the shuttle from East Campus to City Campus. Now they’ve written a book together. Check out their story here. This newsletter also highlights alumni Greg Wiley ('91), Robin Fitzgerald ('97), Tyler Riewer ('04), Kevin Buglewicz ('16), Erik Wieseman ('08) and Karley Johnson ('21) who reminisce about what they learned in the J-School that impacted their creative careers.
We are welcoming our largest freshmen class ever to Andersen Hall this fall, with 213 incoming freshmen. That’s a 16.4% increase over last year and a whopping 46% increase from when I arrived as dean during the Covid-19 pandemic. Check out our Recruitment Report to see student demographics, top feeder schools and our strongest competition. As a growing college with a shrinking budget, we need your continued support to ensure our new students have the tools and resources they need to be successful. Please consider a giving to our greatest needs fund today.
On Saturday, we welcome back our Matousek Scholars who will be guiding our new students in the Experience Lab. The Matousek Scholars will engage in a leadership development workshop over the weekend, led by Ava Thomas, President – Midwest Region, Lee Enterprises; Liz Ring Carlson, Vice President Corporate Communications, Ameritas; and Tony Sattler (’03), Executive Vice President/Director of Experience & Insights, Swanson Russell. Thanks to an incredible gift from Mark (’77) and Chris Matousek, our Experience Lab Student Leads receive a $1000 scholarship award to support their education.
Our students were busy this summer getting to know greater Nebraska through the Rural Journalism Internship Program, gaining data journalism skills at NICAR, and earning awards from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and PRSSA National. Faculty were busy too, launching new curricular programs like the certificate in esports media and communication and the accelerated master’s degree, while securing a grant from the Nebraska Research Initiative to establish the Social and Traditional Media Analytics and Research Tools Lab (SMART-Lab). The innovative media data scraping and mining tools in the SMART-Lab are already being used to advance research, like Assistant Professor Kelli Boling’s recent study on how TikTok is being used to reduce opioid harm.
If you’re in the Omaha area, we’d love to see you next Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. Our good friends at Bailey Lauerman are hosting a “Workplace Social” for all Omaha area alumni. Catch up with old classmates, reminisce about your time in the J-School and get an update on exciting new initiatives being launched by your alma mater. RSVP Today!
On Thursday, Sept. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Swanson Auditorium, we're hosting a free and open to the public Google News Initiative training session, in partnership with the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). Headed up by CoJMC alum Mike Reilley (‘89), the training will cover digital tools for election coverage in broadcast and digital newsrooms and how to identify misinformation and disinformation and strengthen fact-checking and source verification skills.
Last, but not least, save the date for CoJMC's Homecoming Celebration on Friday, Oct. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m.! Join us at Andersen Hall for an evening of conversation, delicious food, drinks and catching up with fellow alumni.
Go Big Red!
Shari
